Day 83, Finished with ATP

Well I flew out last Friday to take my last checkride with Mr. Clyde Shelton. Hopping back in a Cessna after 140 hours of multi engine time isn't so easy. The checkride went well enough though and I am now a Single Engine, Multi Engine, and Instrument Flight Instructor. He also gave me several signed copies of letters of recommendation which was very nice of him to offer. I hope that my wait to be called by ATP to be an instructor will be short rather than long. In the meantime I'm going to be flying right seat in a Piper Saratoga to keep current and continue to build time. Also I hope to be, and I'll be finding out more this afternoon actually, instructing full time at an airport in Knoxville.

The ATP 90 day career pilot program was fast and stressful. There were plenty of ups and very few downs along the way. I was able to finish the program 7 days short of the 90 day mark. All in all I will miss the experience and the many friends I made both in Atlanta and while on cross country trips with other cross country students I met at other airports. The staff was great and definitely will bend over backwards for you if they feel you are meeting them halfway and doing what you can to study your material and trying your best. At the end of the day, ATP provided me the platform to earn the ratings and certificates I set out to attain from day one. It is up to me, and every other student that came before and will follow me, to go out and do what we can with what we have earned. I highly recommend ATP to anyone who is looking for an accelerated program that simulates, much more so than any other program I have researched, the daily lifestyle you can and will expect at the regional or major airline level when you have passed their interview and are trying to achieve the type rating.

Day 81, Single Engine CFI and Commercial Postponed

The weather here in Atlanta and over in Alabama was horible today so my checkride has been postponed until tomorrow morning. So tomorrow will be my last day and word just broke that ATP will be giving those currently enrolled in the 90 day career pilot program who attained their instrument rating before April 1st, 2009 a ride in the company Cessna Citation jet. I will be given a high performance and high altitude endorsement. So that's really good news. I'll have to obviously drive back down to Atlanta from Knoxville sometime in the next few weeks but I'll gladly do so if it means 2-3 hours in a Citation and a those endorsements.

I'll keep you up to date on the checkride tomorrow when I get a chance to update the site over the weekend.